Ring Finger
by melicitysmoak
Summary: Five times someone notices Felicity's ring finger and ponders on her relationship with Oliver Queen with hope or regret, and the one time it truly mattered (inspired by Olicity wedding spoilers we've been getting lately for Season 6 and the stolen shot of SA holding on to EBR's ring finger and pinkie during an Arrow shoot in Vancouver).
1. It's Good to Know (Oliver's POV)

**A/N: I'm so excited for Season 6 that I just had to write this down. There's just something about seeing that ring finger photo of SA as Oliver and EBR as Felicity that inspired me to come up with something like this. (Go to Twitter account of _mdupregj_ where I saw the picture, and then scroll down a bit and you'll see the photo by Frog Photography.)**

 **Sharing this fic with you... The chapters will come from six different episodes, one from each season, and told from the POVs of Oliver, Felicity, or someone close to either or both of them. This fic is pretty much canon compliant, but I've tweaked particular scenes to give readers a sneak peek at BTS possibilities that would help shed light on Olicity's relationship from when they first met up to 6x07, like a "what if" concept. It's my first 5+1, so I hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow because DC and the CW do. I only wish I did.**

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 **Chapter 1: IT'S GOOD TO KNOW (Oliver's POV, from 1x03)**

" _Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen,"_ he said.

He was more nervous than he would care to admit, and he had to remind himself of the reason why he was now introducing himself to a stranger whom he was about to lie to.

He did have a legitimate reason for coming to the I.T. department of his family's company that day. He'd been trained – and quite extensively so – to fight, to strategize, to spy. But he could only do so much when it comes to computer technology. While he could use a computer better than an average person, he certainly could not fix a bullet-riddled laptop or recover files from one. He needed help this time.

" _Of course! I know who you are. You're, you're Mr. Queen,"_ she replied, her voice betraying a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

" _No, Mr. Queen was my father,"_ he responds quickly, more confident than he had been a few seconds ago. Truth be told, it flattered him a little that after five miserable years when nothing good ever happened, he still had that effect on pretty girls.

When Walter Steele suggested that he see a certain female computer genius several floors below the executive floor, he had wondered if this would be the day he would run into _her_. Since he'd been back in Starling City for the past weeks, he hadn't had the time to wander around Queen Consolidated, much less find out if she still worked there and search her out, even if he wanted to.

He did, however, wonder a number of times if he'll ever get to meet the special young woman that had made him smile a while back, when ARGUS had sent him back to his home city on a special assignment with Maseo. That special assignment necessitated breaking and entering into his father's office, and that had been the first time he'd seen the beautiful blonde from his hiding place in an adjacent room. She had placed some files on his father's desk and then noticed the framed photograph of him and his dad. He had heard her remark out loud that he was cute, regret that he was dead, and then immediately reprimand herself for talking to herself once more. He remembered thinking how adorable she looked when she babbled.

Like when she impulsively replied in sentence fragments. _"Right. But he's dead. I mean, he drowned. But you didn't. Which means that you can come down here in the IT department and listen to me babble. Which will end, in 3-2-1."_

Before he acted on Walter's recommendation, he had done his research. Imagine his delightful surprise when Felicity Smoak turned out to be the girl that had, time and again, crossed his mind in the last three years.

During those times when he felt lonely and homesick the most, fond images of her had helped him sleep through a number of rough nights – of golden blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, of dark-rimmed glasses framing the most perfect pair of blue eyes, of a black-and-white polka dot shirt, of pink lips and slender arms akimbo on shapely hips.

Nothing in her background and profile suggested that she couldn't be trusted. She was clearly a genius, having graduated from MIT in 2009 at the young age of 19; she could certainly help him recover files from the laptop he'd taken from Floyd Lawton. But he had also found no indication that she could be trusted to keep his secret identity if she figured it out on her own. For if she was indeed as brilliant as he presumed her to be, then she would easily see through his lame excuses. Who knows what she would do if she so much as suspects how he really spent his nights?

Still, there was just something about her that made him want to take the risk of seeing her again and asking for her help. Sure, she was practically a stranger, but he felt it in his gut that _she_ would trust _him_. He considered that more important than him trusting her, because he didn't trust himself in the first place.

And he was right.

Even though Felicity Smoak saw right through the "spilled latte" and "bad neighborhood" alibis, she still agreed to help him retrieve files from the laptop. He made a mental note of how cute she looked with her head tilted to the side, her forehead a bit creased between the eyebrows, and her lips pursed. That had made him smile, yet again. When he came to think of it, he really couldn't recall if he had smiled at all in the last three years, between the two instances that she had made him smile.

She offered him a seat, and he took it willingly. He could have just gone and let her get to work on the laptop; he could just come back when she already had something to show him. Yet it seemed to him that she didn't really mind him staying and watching her work, and that was just perfect, because he wanted to. He not only wanted to find out what Lawton was up to and to figure out who his next target was based on the vital information and clues that could be extracted from the files in the laptop; he also wanted to get to know Felicity Smoak better.

In just a few minutes, he already decided that the way her fingers flew across the keyboard was just as fascinating as the way she spoke so candidly, that her manicured fingernails were just as charming (and positively distracting) as her luscious pink lips, and that the silver arrow-like piercing in her left ear, which peeked subtly through the strands of her ponytailed hair, intrigued him and made him want to reach up and touch it. Nevertheless, because he had been trained by the need for self-preservation to tame his impulses and control his instinctive responses, he simply kept his hands folded neatly on his lap and just stared at the computer monitor in front of them, stealing furtive glances at the blonde genius that he had grown so fond of in just a few silent minutes.

But what drew Oliver's attention and interest most significantly was not the blueprint that she managed to pull up on the monitor in no time. It was her ring-less ring finger.

It's good to know that she was still single, he thought. Not that he was interested in asking her out or dating her. No, not with his dangerous nighttime activities that would put a target on her back. Not with the kind of life he now led. He thought it wouldn't be fair to someone so innocent and pure as her. But, if he ever completed his mission of honoring his father's wishes and still ended up alive, if he ever decided to live a normal life with normal relationships, Felicity Smoak would definitely be someone he would love to be with. If that opportunity were today, it was good to know that being with her was at least possible. She was surely worth the trying, even for someone like him with an unbelievable past.

He stared at her ring finger, wondering what it would be like to rub the pads of his fingers around it. He actually cracked a smile unawares as his mind wrapped itself around that thought.

Oliver didn't realize that Felicity was already speaking to him until he thought he heard her say something about Hamlet and not wanting to be part of their "Shakespearean family drama." He certainly did not understand the references, and it wasn't just because he had not taken any classes on Shakespeare in either of the Ivy League colleges he had dropped out of (or been kicked out of). It was more because they were sitting so close to each other, and he could smell the sweet, subtle fragrance of cherry blossoms that matched the pastel pink color of her blouse. What was wrong with him? For a moment there, he couldn't focus, not when she was looking at him like that.

She only got his undivided attention again when she started talking about the Exchange Building where the auction for Unidac Industries was going to be held. (Now they were getting somewhere.) Oliver only realized that he hadn't been paying close attention to the obvious a minute ago when she started explaining. The name Warren Pattel was clearly seen on the upper left-hand corner of the screen, right on top of the blueprint of the Exchange Building, but he only noticed it when she pointed it out.

Oliver easily made the connection between Pattel and Lawton. The wheels of his mind started to turn, and he got his head back in the game. When a plan for the evening of the action began to hatch in his mind, he stood up and thanked Felicity for her help.

As he left her cubicle and walked out the door of her office, he knew that he would be back – to ask for more technical support when he needed it, and to get his weekly dose of sunshine and rainbows (which he would only realize two years later that he needed for him to rise above the darkness and harness what little light he had left inside him).

An energy drink in a syringe, a special type of arrow, a bogus friend's address to find, a mysterious blank notebook, and a gunshot wound to the chest later, Oliver decided it was high time for _him_ to trust _her_ with his secret. She, no doubt, already trusted him.

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 **A/N: So, is this worth the effort of continuing? Do tell.**


	2. Talk About Unthinkable (Felicity's POV)

**A/N: This one is about twice as long as chapter 1, and not as light in tone. I hope you'll see why, and understand. What I imagined for two of my favorite scenes in 2x23 might not be that unthinkable from Felicity's POV.**

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 **Chapter 2: TALK ABOUT UNTHINKABLE (Felicity's POV, from 2x23)**

" _I will come and get you when this is all over,"_ Oliver told her after shutting the front door of what used to be the Queen mansion behind them.

His voice was gentle, even if determination was written all over his face. Slade Wilson and his army of _mirakuru_ -driven criminals have been wreaking havoc for hours. Felicity wasn't sure why he had taken her to his family's former home, in the opposite direction to where all the action was.

" _No!"_ her emphatically vocal objection reverberated throughout the empty foyer of the huge house.

" _Felicity…"_

She recognized that tone in his voice instantly. It wasn't impatience or exasperation at her protest. It was something else, of the _I-know-you-have-questions-but-I-can't answer-them-all-just-yet_ kind. Something was up – something that he couldn't tell her even if she sensed that he really wanted to. She knew it in her bones, because she knew him.

She has come to know him better than anyone. After all, she has worked with him for almost two years now. Just in the past year, she has gotten to know him up close and personal, as his executive assistant in Queen Consolidated during the day, and as the vigilante's IT specialist at night. They've spent more hours in a day together than apart. She'd like to think that John Diggle has known him just as well, but in a different way. So, maybe it was more accurate for her to think that no one knew Oliver Queen quite like the way she did.

Which was why she had the audacity to think that she could voice out her displeasure at his sudden, strange secrecy one more time. Maybe if she used a slightly louder and more insistent tone of voice, which had worked on him before – he'll stop trying to keep her in the dark completely.

" _No! Not unless you tell me why."_

" _Because I need you to be safe,"_ was his terse reply.

Safe. John had told her before how Oliver had made a promise to protect her that night when she made the decision to join his team, even if at that time, she had only intended to help out until they'd found Walter Steele. Since then Oliver had always made good on that promise. She had proven it to be true numerous times, including the time when the Dodger almost succeeded in severing her head from her neck with an explosive device. But so far, nothing had underscored it better than when he had come to rescue her from the Count – on the same night when the jury was supposed to come out with the verdict on his mother's criminal case.

She had begged him not to kill again, not for her. But he still had let those arrows fly – all three of them, straight to the deranged villain's chest – a split-second before the Count injected her with the Vertigo. She had cried – not only out of fear for her life, but even more so because she had been the reason why he had to kill again, after all those months since Tommy Merlyn died. She had never forgotten what he said to her that night at the foundry when she apologized for being the reason he had to make a choice to violate his vow never to take a life again: _"He had you, and he was going to hurt you. There was no choice to make."_ Oh yes, Felicity had no doubt that Oliver would do and could do whatever it took to keep her safe.

Except, tonight when all hell had broken loose and Starling City was overrun by Slade Wilson's army of _mirakuru_ monsters, she vehemently refused to be sheltered from the danger in the name of safety. She wanted to be part of the action because she was very much a legitimate part of the team. She wanted to be part of saving the city that she had come to love.

So, she argued, _"But I don't want to be safe. I want to be with you, and the others. Unsafe."_

" _I can't let that happen."_

She wanted to say, "Sure, you can't, or won't. But I'm a big girl. Like a said before, it's my life, my choice." But she thought it pretty harsh for someone who's only trying to protect her and keep her from harm's way. She already tried to convince him by appealing to his emotions, so this time, she would appeal to reason.

" _Oliver, you're not making any sense."_

She really wanted to understand, but she needed him to help her understand. She wanted in on the plan. She could see it in his eyes and on his face that there was indeed some scheme unfolding in his mind. She had long since figured out that, while Oliver may not be a genius like her, he was a different kind of genius. He was intelligently gifted at strategizing, and she believed in him, so much so that she was willing to stake her life on it.

She told him so earlier tonight, back at the clock tower, when he had but lost all hope that he could defeat Slade and stop those _mirakuru_ madmen. She told him with all the fire and feistiness left inside her that the best way to honor the dead was by fighting, and that he was not done fighting. She also assured him that he was not alone, and that she believed in him. Later on, in his dark and empty office at QC, it was she that had suggested that he consider how he might make Slade outthink him instead.

Perhaps, that was what he was doing now. She truly wanted to find out. She looked him straight in the eye and waited for his explanation. She would take it, no matter how concise. A partial explanation was better than nothing.

" _Slade took Laurel because he wants to kill the woman I love,"_ Oliver began to explain briefly.

" _I know. So?"_

" _So he took the wrong woman."_

Felicity was so not ready for that. With her eyebrows lifted, her eyes widened, and her dropped jaw causing her lips to form a perfect O, all she could utter was, _"Oh…"_

Nothing could have prepared her to hear those six very unexpected words. At first, she thought that she had heard him wrong, or that he must have hit his head so hard when their van turned-turtle earlier that night. But there was something in his eyes that told her that he just might have meant what he said. That he wanted her to understand the implications of what he just said – implication number one being, that Laurel was not the woman he loved anymore, and two being, that the woman he loved now was the one standing right in front of him – _her._

It was just too good to be true, incredulous even! Oliver must have sensed her confusion just then, because just as she was about to snort and smirk at what she was beginning to think was such an inappropriate and ill-timed joke, he went on to say the three words she had only ever dreamed of hearing him say to her.

" _I love you."_

Felicity was ready right then and there to either laugh or faint in disbelief. Oliver Queen just told her that he loved her. He. Loved. Her. Never in her life has she heard something so short yet so loaded, ludicrous and unbelievable. Inconceivable! And yet, there she was, hoping with every fiber of her being that he had meant every single word.

Because she was sure that after everything they've been through, _she_ loved him. Beyond the professional courtesies they extended each other and the crime-fighting partnership they shared, beneath the friendly banter and inappropriate innuendos that slipped when her brain-to-mouth filter wasn't working, she had come to care about him. Deeply. She wanted to fight alongside him. She wanted to help him through his journey from darkness to light. She wanted those three words to be true.

Just as her brain was getting used to the idea that he might have meant those words, her hopes are dashed. He takes her left hand, and she feels him slip something into it ever so subtly, as if he was passing on a secret message, even though she was sure that they were alone in that humungous house. He held her gaze as he squeezed the object into the palm of her hand, telling her that he didn't want her to look down and see what it was.

She stared at him, long and hard, as she felt the elongated object in her hand. It was a syringe, which she inferred was filled with the _mirakuru_ cure. So he did have a plan, just as she had suspected.

What surprised her more was that he was counting on her to see his plan through, just at the right time. _Her._ Of all people. Why her? Why not John or Roy? And Sara… Sara was back. She was the badass, his perfect counterpart. How could she inject Slade with the cure? How could she even come close to a murderer with a horrific moniker like Deathstroke? She was the only one in their team with neither skill nor training to kick ass.

Then it hit her. This was how Oliver was trying to fool Slade, by making him underestimate the Arrow's secret weapon – the pretty petite blonde that held his complete undoing in her tiny hand. By verbally declaring that he loved her, he invited Slade to take her. That was how she was going to get close to her target.

Felicity didn't have all the answers to the myriad of questions now floating in her head. But she knew one thing: he trusted her enough to put the fate of their city and the lives of its people in her hands – hands whose expertise were limited to coding and hacking on a keyboard. The realization of his trust in her made her heart soar with renewed courage and pride. She could do it, and she would. Because _he_ believed in her, just like she believed in him.

" _Do you understand?"_ he asked, snapping her out of her musing.

Huh? She wasn't sure if he was referring to his previous declaration of love, or to what she assumed he wanted her to do with the unlikely weapon in her hand.

Nevertheless, she replied, _"Yes."_ She would figure out which was which later.

It was absolutely confusing, come to think of it. She had known from the very first time they'd met that he was a terrible communicator. He resorted to flimsy alibis when he was wary of revealing facts and truths. When he was cornered into divulging his true feelings or admitting that he was wrong, he would escape through flat-out denials or throwing a temper tantrum.

She never did get over the incident after they had arrived from a mission in Russia where she'd caught Isabel coming out of his hotel room with a smug look on her face. When she had asked him, "Why her?" (referring to Isabel), he had told her that because of the life he led, he didn't think it was wise for him to be with someone he could truly care about. It would have made sense to her then, if he had not gotten together with Sara soon after that. Talk about mixed signals! Despite all that, she still trusted him, stood by him through thick and thin.

But this? This was new. Felicity felt like this would either top that ridiculous "life-that-I-lead" speech, or it could count as a close second. One second he declared his love for her; another second later, it's like he takes it back by _hinting_ that it was just all part of a plan. Why was he making a habit of playing with her feelings?! Was this some kind of cruel game to him?

Felicity had no second thoughts: Oliver was a lousy communicator. And it wasn't just with the words he said. His actions were just as confusing and exasperating. Like that one time when she came back from Central City to visit Barry Allen (again) and had blundered (unintentionally) on a mission. He had yelled at her, insulted her competence, and questioned her commitment – short of accusing her of putting her infatuation for the cute but comatose forensic scientist before the team. She had fought back with her fair share of cutting words and then walked out on him. He had the nerve to accuse her of not having her head in the game, and then later he tells her that saw her as his partner, sealing the affirmation with a tender touch of his warm, reassuring hand on her shoulder.

If she were truly honest, she'd have to admit that he has always done that. If she remembered right, it had started after they had put away the old subway "executioner" that kidnapped and threatened to kill Roy Harper for everyone to see. At the end of that day, Oliver had told her that if she ever needed to tell someone about her day, she could tell him. And then he had laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

The shoulder touch was his signature gesture of endearment, one that was reserved especially for her. In the beginning, she had taken it to mean that he appreciated what she was doing for the team in support of his vigilante mission. Later on, she had taken it to mean that he had grown fond of her as a really good friend.

But then she got shot in the shoulder when she went out on the field to get even with Tockman; that's when things really began to shift for her, maybe even for him. He told her then that she would always be _his girl_. He had also touched her cheek with the palm of his calloused hand, but she didn't mind the coarseness. She had leaned into his touch with eyes closed and savored the moment. True, she was probably just giddy because of the "aspirin" that John had given her for the pain, but she had always thought that his new gesture had meant something much more than mere appreciation for taking the bullet for Sara, more than fondness of her as a friend.

Since then, the shoulder touches came more frequently, though she didn't recall if he'd tried touching her face again. Perhaps she'd mistaken it for something that had happened only in her dreams.

Nevertheless, Oliver had started doing something new. It had happened first when they were enjoying a late dinner at Big Belly Burger as a team after a relatively problem-free patrol. She had cracked a joke that John and Roy hadn't found funny, but apparently Oliver had felt differently. He had laughed so hard that she had grinned from ear to ear, amused that he had picked up on her punchline at all. He was sitting right next to her and as his laughter faded, he reached for her hand from under the table and squeezed it. Yet he hadn't let go. Instead, he started rubbing the pads of his thumb on her finger. And not just any finger. Her ring finger. She had frozen in place, but had kept a straight face in front of John and Roy. When she glanced at Oliver, he looked like he had no idea what he was doing. It was as if he was caressing her finger instinctively.

Felicity, of course, she had found his new fetish for her ring finger delightful. Yet she had never brought it up with him, not even when it happened again in the foundry, and several other times after that. She didn't plan to anymore.

Up until now. Because he was doing it again.

Oliver had let go of the syringe, but he hadn't let go of her hand. And now he was rubbing her ring finger gently, like he always did during those rare times when he was happy and content and there was no one else in the foundry but them, staring at the computer monitors on her work station.

Truth be told, she had never flinched or tried to swat his hand away. He had told her that he couldn't be with someone he truly cared about; however, each time he caressed her finger unawares, she felt that it was their moment, even if it was merely a stolen one. She had learned to settle for that, because it made her happy to see that the gesture had made him happy every time. If he found it calming to rub his thumb against his index finger every time he felt uneasy or anxious, she had found it simply amusing to see him rub his thumb up and down her ring finger every time he felt peaceful and content. That had been enough for her.

So, even though she would have exploded and yelled at him in frustration for sending mixed signals with an _I-love-you_ and a hint that it was just pretense a moment ago, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Why? Because what he was doing with her ring finger was doing things to her. It calmed her. It affirmed that he trusted her. It assured her that everything will be all right. It reminded her of how they'd bonded beyond mere friendship over the past year.

Maybe he had meant _it_ after all, she thought. Maybe it was about time she mustered the courage to ask if he really did. As Oliver walked away and disappeared from the mansion, Felicity decided that when this is all over, she would confront him about it and find out if _he and she_ now had a chance.

 _ **The next day on Lian Yu…**_

"You did it," Felicity complimented Oliver.

He had just come out of the underground prison facility of ARGUS where they had deposited Slade Wilson and had joined her and John on the beach.

Oliver was quick to acknowledge that he hadn't been victorious on his own. "I had help."

"Yeah," she smiled. "It's really smart, the way you outfoxed him."

She paused. She didn't know exactly how to go about what she had planned to confront him with. She might have lost the resolved to push on if he wasn't looking down at her with those gorgeous blue eyes. His face was battered and bruised all over, but he looked very handsome nonetheless. It was his smile that encouraged her to continue.

"Talk about unthinkable. You and me, I mean. When you told me you loved me, you had me fooled. For a second, I thought, maybe you might have meant it. What you said… you really sold it."

She waited for him to say something, to confirm or deny it, to explain himself and what he'd done. She wanted him to tell her the truth, so she could move forward, or move on. But he just stood there smiling.

"We both did," was all he said.

She waited another moment, giving him one last chance, an out that he could take or leave. But he didn't make the move.

So, she said, "Let's go home."

Felicity could have felt disappointed, or even crushed, for once again the man she has learned to love still wasn't ready to reciprocate her feelings for him. But she wasn't disappointed. She wasn't crushed. She was going to be fine, and she was willing to wait. Somehow, she had a feeling that it was only a matter of time.

Because as they turned to walk back to their plane, Oliver took her left hand in his. And just like that, he was doing it again to her ring finger, until they caught up with John and had to board the plane.

She stole a glance and smiled back at him. Perhaps they weren't so unthinkable after all.

And she was right.

Five months later, Felicity happily placed a potted fern on the table in the foundry. When Oliver asked her what it was for, she told him that since he lived there now, the place could use some sprucing up. As she spoke playfully, he placed his hand on her left hand that was resting on the table, and rubbed the pads of his fingers up and down her ring finger. It was really nothing new, she thought.

Except now he'd learned how to flirt with her, too.

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 **A/N: So how was it? Next up... Ray Palmer's POV from an episode in Season 3.**


	3. Everything Ended with Jello (Ray's POV)

**A/N: Before anything else, I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I didn't mean for it to be two weeks late. I just had to prioritize completing "Purple Hearts" and updating "Cry on My Shoulder," and after that, RL happened. (sigh) But here it is. The chapter begins with a scene from 3x20, but everything else is flashback. I hope you like this and that it makes up for the delay.**

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 **Chapter 3: EVERYTHING ENDED WITH JELLO (Ray Palmer's POV, from 3x20)**

" _I'm sorry. You're the last person that I meant to hurt,"_ was Felicity's honest but pained response.

She had come to ask her boyfriend Ray Palmer, for another favor, which was bigger than the first one, when she had asked to borrow his helicopter. This time, she had borrowed his private jet to help out "a friend" because something "really awful" had happened. It hadn't taken a genius – although he was one, much like her – to figure out who the friend was, and that whatever it was that was really awful had something to do with the masked vigilante that she had been helping for the past three years.

The conversation had not taken long, but it had taken a turn for the unexpected – at least, for Felicity. Ray had confronted her a second time about having feelings for Oliver, and this time, she hadn't denied it or dumbed it down. All she could do was apologize, and he appreciated it – that, and the fact that her apology had also been an indirect admission about her true feelings for the man that he rivaled for her heart. But that didn't mean that the truth didn't hurt. It did. Because the fact of the matter was that Ray did love her.

Even if he had known _all along_ that she didn't love him back.

Ray wasn't supposed to fall in love with Felicity Smoak. She had been just a part of a plan, a means to an end. She was a stepping stone to his ultimate goal of becoming a hero that would help make Starling City a better, safer place. She had been just an important piece of his puzzle – the kind that hadn't given him much sleep at night since his fiancée Anna was cold-bloodedly murdered by one of the invincible, monstrous madmen that had put the city under siege just a year ago.

As a successful and filthy rich businessman with a hidden agenda of his own, Ray had become aware that Queen Consolidated was in deep trouble financially (and otherwise), and when he had gotten wind that the company's Board of Directors was finally open to a merger or a buy-out, he had determined to present an offer that they couldn't resist. After scrutinizing the company's best assets and evaluating whether or not such an investment was indeed going to be to his advantage, Ray had come to the conclusion that QC had two of the best resources available to get his personal project of protecting the city off the ground. The first was its Applied Sciences Division; he'd been excited about the possibilities that the technology in that department could offer. The second was a former employee whose brilliance and expertise in information technology and other related tech could help make his mission possible.

For Ray, buying out QC and securing the Applied Sciences Division had been a piece of cake. He had felt bad for Oliver Queen; it was, after all, the man's family's company. But, certain compromises had to be made for his vision to come to fruition, and the sacrificial lamb unfortunately had to be one of his fairly good acquaintances in the business and socialite world.

Felicity Smoak, however, was a different story.

Ray had tracked her down (more like stalked her, but stalking is such an ugly word for such a noble cause). He was more than surprised to have found her working as a sales representative in a Tech Village branch in downtown Starling. When he had entered the store, and found her talking to some customers behind a counter filled with computer technology stuff, his first impression of her had been one of misgiving. He had thought that this brilliant blonde beauty's talents were being wasted in that place. To say that she had been overqualified for her "position" had been an understatement, and he had thought that she deserved a better paying job. That was what he had told her right then and there, and twice after they first met when he had hounded her to take the offer.

In the beginning, Ray couldn't really figure out what made Felicity tick. He had thought her crazy to decline his offer three times. He'd sent her flowers. He had even pinged her phone to know her whereabouts. She not only refused to work for him, she also fought back the best way she knew how. She had somehow accessed his devices and installed porcupine farts on them all. Who would do such a thing? And when he had bought the entire Tech Village chain of stores just so that she could be his employee, she quit her job there.

Later on, when Felicity had a sudden change of heart and finally accepted the job at Palmer Technologies, Ray still had found it a challenge to win her loyalty. He even had to buy her an insanely expensive couture evening dress (that looked absolutely stunning on her) and lend her a diamond necklace to match, just to get her to agree to go on a business dinner with him to charm and convince someone to sell him their property. He'd been mighty proud of himself that she had said yes, even if deep down he felt a tad bit regretful that he actually had to stoop so low as to actually bribe her with the dress and the diamonds. But really, Ray had thought that those costly gifts actually showed how much he valued her. It had been quite disappointing that she hadn't seen it that way.

Until that kiss in her office, the night after the business dinner.

That unexpected lip lock, which Ray had impulsively initiated and Felicity had unexpectedly returned, had shifted things between them. From then on, they could no longer see themselves as just business colleagues with an employer-employee relationship. While it was true that Ray had taken a step back because he had felt guilty that he might have dishonored his deceased fiancée by kissing another attractive female with whom he had discovered he shared a lot of things in common, it hadn't taken him long to take two steps forward and pursue a romantic relationship with her.

Ray was persuaded that Felicity Smoak was a truly remarkable woman. She wasn't only a gifted genius; her wit was matched by an inner courage and resolve that he had learned to admire her for. He had discovered that, like him, she wanted to use her strengths and potentials to help make a difference in people's lives. Like him, she had a burden to make Starling City a better place. This had drawn him even more to her, far beyond her endearing babbles and the technological breakthroughs that she had helped him make. In the beginning, Ray had only set out to find a partner that he could depend on for his mission to save the city; however, the more he came to know her, he had realized that he'd actually found someone who could also become a true partner in life. He had thought that no one else but Anna could be exactly that for him, but Felicity Smoak had proven him wrong.

By the time she had helped him with the finishing touches on his Atom suit by giving him the password to her facial recognition software, Ray had been ready to go "all in" with this wonderful woman. He'd been happy about the decision he had made in behalf of his lonely heart. She had looked like she was happy, too. And when she had asked him to be her "plus one" to attend a dear friend's wedding, Ray had been the proud boyfriend, delighted that she was ready to be seen with him in public as a couple and to introduce him to her friends.

John Diggle's wedding had been an eye-opener, though.

It was the threat that had set the tone for the rest of the event. _"You hurt her and they'll never find your body,"_ Mr. Diggle had whispered unequivocally to Ray's ear. To his credit, Ray was somewhat able to bounce back from that and officiate the wedding of the man that just moments ago had threatened to murder him if he broke Felicity's heart.

What had bothered him more during the event was the observation of how tight the friendship of Felicity was with her circle of friends – a circle that he doubted he would be able to penetrate and join. The way she interacted with the Diggles, with a younger guy that she introduced as Roy Harper, and surprisingly, even with A.D.A Laurel Lance, the ex-girlfriend of her former QC boss Oliver Queen – gave every indication that they were a closely-knit group that was almost like family. Why that was so, was something that had intrigued Ray since.

But none had intrigued him more that night than the way she had interacted with Oliver.

During the traditional ring ceremony, Ray had happened to glance Felicity's way. He had seen her sigh in awe and delight at the bride and groom's declarations of love to each other. Her smile had been perfect. Ray had also noticed her playing with her fingers, but upon observing more, he'd realized that she was actually just playing with one finger – her ring finger. He had smiled at the novel discovery that she liked doing that unawares, and he had wondered if she wouldn't mind him doing it for her. He had decided that he was going to find out what his chances were of caressing her ring finger when he brought her home tonight. (The poor guy hadn't known that she allowed only one person to do just that.) Ray had also begun to wonder what it would be like to slide a ring onto that finger, because as far as he was concerned, Felicity Smoak was certifiably "marriage material."

His train of thought, nonetheless, had been broken immediately, because as soon as he shifted his gaze back to the bride and groom standing in front of him, his eye had caught sight of John Diggle's best man, Oliver Queen, Felicity's former boss at QC. Obviously, Oliver had been staring at someone in the congregation, and when Ray followed Oliver's gaze, it led him back to Felicity. The expression on Oliver's poker face had been difficult to decipher, but it was his eyes that betrayed genuine emotion. There'd been sadness and regret. Ray had recognized both, because he'd seen the same things in the pair of eyes that stared back at him in the mirror every morning since Anna was killed.

Yet, in Oliver's eyes there had also been… longing. Ray had thought it impossible, but he knew from experience that any man who'd get the chance to get to know Felicity Smoak well enough would feel the same kind of longing. He had remembered feeling that longing that night after the business dinner when Felicity had spoken well of him and secured an important deal for Palmer Tech; that was why he had thrown caution to the wind and impulsively kissed her.

Was it possible that there was indeed something going on between Oliver and Felicity? Sure. No man in his right mind would not find Felicity attractive and easy to fall in love with. What more a handsome billionaire with her as his executive assistant? Maybe there had been something there. Ray only wished that that something was something that remained in the past. She had, after all, already agreed to be his girlfriend, and he trusted her. He trusted the sincerity of her choice, and that had given him the confidence he needed to suppress the onset of jealousy.

During the wedding reception, Ray had gone to the bar to get some red wine for him and Felicity, who had just caught the bouquet from the bridal toss. While he waited for the bartender to serve the drinks he ordered for them, he had observe the crowd, searching for the most beautiful blonde in the room that happened to be his girlfriend. He had found her instantly, what with the gorgeous red dress she wore that outlined her curves perfectly. Yet, he hadn't been prepared for what he'd seen.

Laurel Lance had just walked away, leaving Felicity alone with Oliver. The two were standing side by side, clearly having a conversation even without really looking at each other, and yet the chemistry between them could neither be missed nor denied. And when their eyes had finally met, albeit temporarily, Ray could have sworn that there had been an unmistakable spark between them. He would have doubted their eyes because the connection was immediately cut short, but their body language only confirmed what their eyes had only hinted at previously.

Since he and Felicity had arrived at the wedding venue, it had been getting increasingly harder not to feel jealous that more people in the room knew his girlfriend more intimately than he did. Ray had thought that he needed to figure out how to handle his emotions when it came to Felicity's friends, especially one very handsome bachelor named Oliver Queen. He had decided that he needed to have a serious but calm talk with her about this.

Only, the serious but calm talk had never happened.

Soon after, he had discovered that Oliver was the Arrow and that Felicity had been working with him for the last three years. The discovery had ignited an argument that neither of them was ready for.

When Ray accused Oliver of being a murderer who put justice in his own hands, Felicity had told him, _"You have no idea what he's been through, what he's lost, how he's grown. But I do. I know him better than almost anyone."_

That was when he had confirmed the speculations he had had during John Diggle's wedding, that she still had feelings for Oliver. He had confronted her about it point blank. _"You have feelings for him,"_ he had said. To which her instinctive response had been, _"Yes. I mean, no. No! I mean, I did. But that's… that's over now._

" _And now what?"_ Ray had asked with an air of sarcasm. _"Now, I'm supposed to trust you? From the moment we've met, I've held nothing back from you. I did trust you. And I thought you were someone who could be a true partner, that you were someone I could rely on in my mission, and in my life._

" _I wanted that too, Ray. I still do,"_ Felicity had replied.

When Ray simply turned and walked away, she had cried, _"Ray! What are you going to do?"_ Clearly, she had been more concerned about Oliver and his secret than she had been about the status of their relationship, and that had disappointed him even more. So, he had said, _"I'm going to honor the promise I made to this city. I'm gonna bring the Arrow to justice."_

In all honesty, Ray had been angry and hurt that their relationship had started out with Felicity keeping pretty significant secrets from him – the kind that put even strong relationships on the rocks. He had carried that weight on his shoulders, and frankly, he hadn't been sure anymore if carrying on with Felicity would be a wise move. She wouldn't have told him her secret if he had not found out about it himself, and that had been difficult to accept. How could their relationship move forward if _she_ didn't trust him enough to divulge her clandestine involvement with a vigilante, and if _he_ could no longer trust her to be transparent with him?

Nonetheless, Ray had reconsidered. During an encounter between the Arrow and the Atom at the Metzger Powerplant, Oliver himself had assured him that he had nothing to prove. Oliver had also told Ray that Felicity had chosen him. It was then that Ray had decided that she was worth giving their relationship a second chance. Oliver had given him no reason not to trust her.

Unfortunately, the reassurance had not lasted long.

A day or two later, Ray got seriously injured when someone impersonating the Arrow put an arrow into the mayor's heart and into Ray's chest. Ray had been rushed into the hospital and had undergone a delicate surgery, and to his delight, the person he had first laid eyes on when he woke up after that had been Felicity. She had stayed with him all throughout. Even better, she had bravely defied the doctor's medical opinion, as well as hospital policy, and had decided to save his life by injecting him with the teeny weeny nano robots that he had invented. The nano tech had worked, and the blot clot in his brain that had threatened to take his life even after the arrow was successfully removed from his chest had disappeared.

Ray would have been completely happy about all of that, except that when he had thanked her for saving his life, complimented her for her many admirable qualities, and verbalized that he loved her, she hadn't said it back to him. In fact, she had been in total shock over the three words he had uttered so unpredictably.

" _Wow…"_ was the first word that came out of her mouth (if it was even considered a legitimate word or just a cliché of an interjection). _"That's a really nice thing to hear. Especially, you know, after everything that's been going on with you, what with the blood clot and the nano tech and the nearly dying. Speaking of, you must be starving after all that drama. I'm gonna go get the hospital nurse and get you some of that hospital jello."_ She had said nothing more, and then she stood up and stepped out, leaving him alone in the room.

Ray had seen it in her eyes: she had been completely unprepared to hear him say "I love you," and completely unprepared to say those words back sincerely, because she wouldn't have told him the truth. That had hurt him the most, because it had only confirmed what he had been trying so hard to deny from the start. Maybe Felicity did care about Ray deeply, but not deep enough for her to love him just as he had learned to love her.

She didn't love him, and the very next day, he clearly understood and accepted why. She didn't love him, because she still loved Oliver.

Ray had driven her to the outskirts of Starling City to meet up with her vigilante friends so that they could send off Roy Harper, the Arrow's fall guy, who had to leave the city and start a life somewhere else with a new identity that Felicity had made up using her exceptional IT skills. After Roy had sped away in his car, Ray had seen how Oliver and Felicity interacted.

From afar, Ray had heard Oliver say to her, _"I need to learn to let people help me."_

" _Yeah, you could use some practice in that,"_ Felicity had agreed with him. _"I just think that sometimes you're so focused on the people you love, you forget there are people who love you."_

It wasn't just the words they exchanged that confirmed Ray's speculations; it was the way Felicity had spoken them, with so much love. It was the way she had wrapped her arms around Oliver's left arm and leaned into him. Even more so, it was the way Oliver had taken her hand in his and caressed her ring finger without a care in this world. There had been an intimacy between them that Ray had never experienced with her ever since they'd been together.

That was when Ray had made the final decision that he was done pretending that _they_ would work out. The next chance he got to see Felicity again, he was not just going to break up with her; he was going to confront her, and help her realize that she was making a big mistake by denying her true feelings for the man that she truly loved still – the one who would one day, without doubt or contest, put a ring on her finger.

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 **A/N: Thoughts on this one? Do share.**

 **Mama Smoak is up next. It's going to be fun to write what I had in mind. ;-) Hope you stick around.**


	4. For Better or For Worse (Donna's POV)

**Chapter 4: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE (Donna Smoak's POV, from 4x10)**

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 **Summary: Donna Smoak reflects upon her daughter's life and relationships. In light of this current tragedy, she needs reassurance that her daughter is truly loved by the man that she'd chosen to marry.**

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The past couple of days, however, have been hard. Too hard. Just as hard as when Noah had finally left for good, leaving her and her 7-year-old daughter, which was what she had adamantly demanded that he do. She had cried for weeks, had been depressed for months, and had been dysfunctional when it came to relationships for years. But with the delicate condition that Felicity is now in, Donna can't shake off the thought that maybe this is the hardest it's ever going to be for her and for her daughter.

Sure, Felicity's life is now out of danger. But the doctors… The best surgeons and neurosurgeons in Star City and Central City combined have done the best they could under the circumstances, yet they still admitted defeat. They can't fix her. Despite all the advancements in science and medicine in the 21st century, they can't fix her. The damage to her spinal cord is permanent, and after two major surgeries that have already stressed her daughter's body, there's nothing more that they can do.

Don't they know how painful that is for a single mother to accept? A mother who has worked her ass off day-in and day-out in at least two jobs at one time for many years, just to make sure that her extremely gifted daughter gets a better life than she ever had.

Donna had known from the moment Felicity learned to talk that her daughter was special, like her father, which was only confirmed when she built her first computer using spare parts in her father's workshop when she was seven. Losing her father at that young age had almost destroyed her, but Donna had watched her survive. School had changed her life, and learning had helped her focus on who she can be, instead of dwelling on her insecurities and abandonment issues. Donna had always known that her daughter was a fighter, like her, and that had given her the inspiration and the motivation to persevere in raising her child all by herself.

To her credit, Donna's countless sacrifices for her brilliant daughter have paid off. Felicity had not only survived; she has thrived. Felicity had earned a scholarship to go to MIT, from which she graduated at the top of her class in 2009. She had quickly risen from the ranks in Queen Consolidated when Oliver Queen promoted her to become his Executive Assistant, and was well on her way to the pinnacle of success as one of the youngest female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, when she took over for Dr. Ray Palmer after the business tycoon's mysterious demise. If not for that awful corporate jerk, Mr. Dennis, and everyone in that Board of Directors that voted in his favor, Felicity would still be CEO of Palmer Tech and leading the company to a brighter and more prosperous future in science and technology.

Speaking of Ray Palmer, Donna's heart aches even more as she is reminded of her daughter's love life.

A little more than a year ago, when she paid Felicity a surprise visit, she had met Dr. Ray Palmer in her daughter's apartment on the morning that she arrived in what was then called Starling City. And boy oh boy, did she almost drool in envy when she realized who her daughter had been working for. Ray was the perfect guy for Felicity. He was tall, handsome, and well-built underneath that crisp, wrinkle-free suit (and she knew this because, of course, Donna Smoak had X-ray vision when it came to gorgeous guys). He was a genius just like her daughter, and they spoke the same language – the language of mathematics and everything tech-y-ish. Like Felicity, he was just as funny and tended to be awkward and inappropriate, much like mother and daughter. He was essentially a Disney prince, as Felicity would later on say. It had taken Donna only five minutes to size him up, and she had decided right then and there that Ray Palmer was definitely a prized catch that Felicity should bait and reel in as fast as she can.

That is, until Donna met Oliver Queen later that day. She remembered asking Felicity how many handsome billionaires she had as friends.

Oliver was even more gorgeous and attractive in person than Ray Palmer (despite the fact that he really was no longer a billionaire). He had that distinctive charm and charisma that he must have gotten from his very prominent (yet deceased) parents. But there was something else about him – an air of mystery beneath that winsome smile that Donna couldn't quite put her finger on – something that had drawn her daughter to him. Donna could tell, because Felicity practically lit up like Christmas the moment Oliver walked into that poorly lighted warehouse that used to be a night club or something. Donna had watched them interact in just a few minutes, and she had already known that her daughter was in love with Oliver. Her love radar had immediately picked up the signal that there was something special between him and her daughter.

Which was why she had been puzzled when she learned a few months later that Felicity had gotten together with Ray Palmer instead. She had thought it strange, even second guessing herself and thinking that her love radar had gotten a bit rusty. Nevertheless, she had thought that it didn't really matter that much, for as long as Felicity says she was happy, especially since her boyfriend was still a drop-dead gorgeous billionaire.

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A few more months later, Donna had taken the first plane out of Vegas after watching the news that Ray Palmer had been shot with an arrow and had been in critical condition. She had thought that Felicity would need some moral support. She had gone straight to the hospital from the airport, pulling her luggage behind her, and surprising her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend with her ostentatious (and unwelcome) presence. It was a good thing she had come, though, because Felicity might not have mustered the courage to do what was necessary to save her boyfriend's life if she hadn't convinced her daughter to do so. After her heartfelt, persuasive speech about how Ray's life is already at risk and how it is sometimes necessary to take chances in life for the people we care about, Felicity did end up saving Ray's life. Defying doctor's advice and hospital policy, Felicity secretly injected him with those teeny, tiny nano-robot thing-ies in a blue liquid. Donna had been mighty proud of her brave baby girl.

Donna had been curious, however, about why Felicity hadn't been completely happy, seeing that her boyfriend was going to make a full recovery. Felicity had come out of Ray's room with that look on her face that her mother was all too familiar with, like she was in big trouble, and immediately, Donna had known in her gut that something was wrong.

" _Ray told me he loved me,"_ Felicity had confessed.

" _And you didn't say it back,"_ Donna had added with concern.

Felicity didn't have to say it. Donna could see it in her eyes. After she had led Felicity to sit down, she frankly verbalized her assessment of her daughter's predicament. _"You don't love Ray, because you're in love with Oliver."_

" _You don't even know Oliver,"_ Felicity had reasoned with her mother. _"You met him for like ten seconds."_

" _I knew it in five,"_ Donna had countered her.

When Felicity expressed her disappointment that Oliver was "terminally unavailable," Donna had been quick to point out that Felicity had two men in her life at the time who were both amazing, and that all she had to do was choose. Yet even then, Donna had been sure that she would choose Oliver.

That is why Donna had been exhilarated when Felicity called up that summer to tell her mother not to worry about her, because the reason she hadn't been in touch so often was that she'd been traveling the world with none other than her boyfriend, Oliver Queen. The next time Felicity had called Donna, it was to give her mother her new address and contact number in Ivy Town, where she and Oliver had bought a house. Donna couldn't be happier for her daughter. Felicity had found the love of her life and was finally in a happy, healthy relationship.

Things were looking up, even when Felicity and Oliver had decided to move back to Starling City – the reason for which Donna did not exactly understand. She hadn't pressed Felicity about it, because again, as long as her daughter was happy, she was happy. Just when Donna thought Felicity couldn't be happier, the most pleasant of surprises had greeted her when she came to visit them for the holidays.

Just days ago in the Loft, she, of all people, found a princess-cut diamond engagement ring tucked away in a small velvet box in one of the storage boxes filled with Christmas decorations. She shrieked in absolute excitement, causing Felicity to run down the stairs in panic. She knew that Oliver loved her daughter very much; in fact, a few weeks ago when Felicity and Oliver had had a disagreement, she had told Felicity that she admired their relationship because it was built on trust and commitment instead of lies, and that they would be fine – all things considered – because they had found themselves in each other. However, she did not realize that Oliver loved Felicity so much that he was already planning on proposing. Donna didn't mean to spoil it for her daughter, but she just couldn't hold it together as she held the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen in her hand. Felicity, of course, was just as overwhelmed with emotion.

After all the drama surrounding the kidnapping of her daughter and her friends by a mysterious man named Damian Darkh during Oliver's mayoral holiday party, Donna was just relieved that her daughter was alive and well. Oliver made sure of that, and she was happy that Felicity was in a relationship with a man that was willing to go through hell and high water just to keep her daughter safe. Oliver had scored big time in her book. As far as Donna was concerned, all he needed to do was ask, and she would readily give her blessing. Oliver could be her son-in-law anytime. Imagine her sheer delight when he proposed to Felicity at the Christmas tree-lighting event in the presence of family, dear friends, and avid campaign supporters. Donna had never seen her daughter so happy.

* * *

But now, Donna isn't so sure anymore.

Felicity would never be able to walk again. She's still so young. She has her whole life ahead of her. She was going to get married and have the most adorable blonde and blue-eyed babies with no less than Star City's next mayor. How could those goons and gunmen take all of that away from her? Life is cruel.

And speaking of getting married…

"Where is Oliver?" Donna wonders. Why isn't he here with her keeping vigil as her daughter – _his_ fiancée – goes through one surgery after another? She hadn't even seen him since she arrived at the hospital. Mr. Diggle said that the last time he'd been here was when he had brought Felicity in, all bloody and fighting for her life.

Oliver should be here. Other than Donna, Felicity had no other family. He should be holding Felicity's hand. He should be comforting her daughter at this time of terrible suffering. He should be taking turns with her in taking care of his fiancée. But he's not, and he's nowhere to be found. His sister Thea has been here more times than he has. What kind of fiancé does that?

Maybe the kind that didn't want to settle down with an invalid, that ran away from the kind of responsibility that taking care of a paraplegic entails.

Donna's mind is plagued with doubts and fears. What if Oliver doesn't really love Felicity as much as she thought he does? What does she tell him? What if he decides that he isn't ready for this? Surely, he must think that he didn't sign up for the kind of life that Felicity now faces. What if he breaks the engagement? Her daughter would end up alone and broken-hearted, when her physical body is already broken and bruised and battered. Felicity would once again feel abandoned, just like she did when her father had left all those years ago.

Donna decides to take a break from her worries. She's stronger than this. She looks up at the TV monitor in front of her as she sits in the hospital corridor, waiting for Felicity to wake up from the anesthesia they'd given her for the last surgery. Everything on the news is depressing, especially the part where the police are saying that they do not have any leads whatsoever that could help them catch the persons responsible for the ambush that had almost taken her daughter's life. It's just so frustrating and infuriating, but she can't do anything about it. Maybe that masked vigilante in Star City known as the Green Arrow can. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath.

When she looks up again, she sees Oliver walking down the corridor towards her. Finally.

" _Where have you been?"_ Donna asks him, more fiercely than a police detective conducting an interrogation. The exasperation and disappointment are evident in the tone of her voice.

" _I should have been here,"_ Oliver replies apologetically.

He takes a seat beside her, and she proceeds to explain everything that's been going on with Felicity. Her voice breaks and her tears fall when she gets to the part where she breaks the awful news that the damage to Felicity's spinal cord is permanent and that her daughter will never walk again. Oliver listens in disbelief, and Donna can see how distraught the man is by the look on his face. He asks her where Felicity is, so she directs him to her room a few doors down the hall.

Apparently, Felicity is already awake, a bit groggy still, but awake. When she sees the love of her life standing at the door for the first time in days, her eyes widen and her lips curl up into a smile. Even with a pallid face and cracked lips, Felicity's eyes light up like Christmas once again, and Donna tears up a little when she recognizes that familiar sparkle in her daughter's eyes reserved only for the man she loves.

" _Hey, stranger,"_ she greets him, trying her best to conceal the pain and physical discomfort she's feeling so that he won't worry too much.

"I'll leave you two alone," Donna whispers to him, as she turns around and exits the room. She closes the door behind her, but leaves it just a couple of inches ajar. Her own mother had always accused her of being a nosy eavesdropper, but this time, the situation calls for it. So, she stands just outside the door, wanting to hear the conversation between her daughter and her daughter's fiancé.

" _Sorry I didn't come by sooner. It's unforgivable,"_ Oliver begins to apologize as he comes around the hospital bed and sits on a chair facing Felicity, who responds by saying, _"Only if you were in Bali or something. Were you in Bali?"_

" _No, I was…"_

" _Beating the streets? Probably a lot of people, looking for Darkh,"_ she completes it for him.

" _I didn't want to come see you until Darkh was off the board,"_ he explains.

So, that's why he hasn't been in here since he brought her to the E.R. Donna considers his rationale, and he has a point. Instead of sitting for hours in the hospital doing nothing but wait and worry (or brood), he'd much rather be out there seeking justice and retribution for her daughter. He is, after all, running for mayor, so logically, he must have the connections needed to catch that Damian fellow and the armed gunmen he hired. It turns out Oliver is man of action, practical. Maybe he does love Felicity after all; he just has a strange way of showing it. Why do Smoak women always fall for men like that? Donna is still unconvinced though, so she listens on.

" _Any luck?"_ Felicity asks.

" _Working some leads,"_ he answers. Good, at least he's getting somewhere. The police sure aren't.

At that point a nurse approaches Donna and gives her instructions about Felicity's pain medications and has her sign some important papers. She doesn't understand half of what the nurse says because she's still straining to hear what's going on inside the room, but she really can't make out what they're saying. It's a good thing the nurse has her occupied; otherwise, she would have heard Oliver talking about feeling regretful that as the Green Arrow, he can't even protect the ones that are closest to him. Donna hurries signing the paperwork so that she could go back to eavesdropping, and soon the nurse leaves her alone outside Felicity's room.

She catches up to the conversation as Felicity tells Oliver, _"There's something else we need to talk about. The doctors… they say that I'm, uhm…"_

" _I know,"_ he says calmly. His voice is resolute, as if the awful truth doesn't faze him at all.

" _My point being is for you to exchange any vows through the whole for-better-or-for-worse thing doesn't really play out here,"_ Felicity tells him.

"Why is she talking this way?" Donna wonders. Is Felicity trying to give him an out? Her daughter has been having doubts, too. Donna is pained that she hadn't recognized the signs early on. She really wants to be there for her daughter.

Donna leans forward and peeps into the room through the narrow opening. She can see both Felicity's and Oliver's faces perfectly from her angle. She notices that her daughter's eyes are red, pooling with tears. Oliver, on the other hand, is trying to keep it together.

" _What are you talking about?"_ Oliver asks Felicity.

Felicity's next response expresses exactly what Donna has been mulling over for the past hour before Oliver arrived a while ago. _"Maybe the real reason you haven't been in here is because…"_

Donna sees Oliver take her engagement ring out of his pocket. So, that's where that precious bling has been all this time! She's been wondering where such an expensive piece of jewelry went. Felicity's ring finger had been bare when she came out of her first surgery. She was beginning to think someone shrewd had taken advantage of the opportunity and stolen the 24-karat diamond ring.

Oliver speaks again, as he takes her daughter's hand. _"The nurse… She took this off of you in the E.R. How dare she?"_ He slips the ring back onto Felicity's finger and smiles. _"For better or for worse,"_ he adds, and then he leans forward and presses a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips.

Donna gasps and covers her gaping mouth with her hand. What could be more romantic than that?! It is even more romantic than when Oliver had slipped the same ring onto Felicity's finger just a few nights ago at the tree-lighting ceremony. Donna had been elated then, but she is bursting at the seams in euphoria right now. She'd be squealing with glee, if it were not for the fact that she is in a hospital; squealing might cause the cardiac patient in the adjacent room to have a heart attack, so she held her tongue and willed her vocal cords to cease from vibrating.

Oliver Queen truly loves her daughter! Nothing could be more beautiful and more precious, nothing sweeter or purer than loving someone unconditionally, in spite of the odds.

Donna could hear the wedding bells pealing… from a distance, but they are pealing alright. She had no doubt whatsoever that the diamond ring on her daughter's finger would soon be joined by a wedding band with Oliver's named etched on its inner rim. Felicity would have the happily-ever-after that she never had, and that is more than she could ever hope for her precious baby girl.

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 **A/N: Would really like to know what you think of this chapter. Do drop a line or two. Thanks for reading!**

 **The next chapter will be in two different POVs - Susan Williams' and Billy Malone's. Interesting... ;-)**


	5. Awkward (Susan's and Billy's POVs)

**Chapter 5: AWKWARD (Susan Williams' & Billy Malone's POV, from 5x09)**

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 **Summary: Oliver's and Felicity's significant others (no matter how temporary and even if it made no real sense at the time) reflect on their complicated relationships with their partners. At the Mayor's holiday bash, reality hits. Hard.**

 **A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in posting this. I got caught up with writing a new AU fic "Blue Eyes." But here it is - the penultimate chapter of this 5+1 fic. I will post the final chapter before episode 6x07 airs, and I get in trouble for straying so far away from canon. :-) Without further ado...**

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Susan Williams is an investigative reporter with a reputation for digging up dirt on society's VIPs and politicians who behave like model citizens on the outside, but inside keep skeletons in their closets. She's extremely good at her job, and every newspaper and television network she's ever worked for will attest to that, as evidenced by her monthly paycheck. In fact, she's so good at her job, that most people she comes in contact with cannot carry on a decent conversation with her, or even just small talk, without being paranoid that she's after their deepest, darkest secrets. Since her rookie year as a journalist, Susan has seen and heard it all. Hardly anything surprises or excites her anymore.

But tonight, she is excited. She hasn't been this excited in a while. She is, after all, Mayor Oliver Queen's date at the Annual Christmas Bash at City Hall. She's so giddy with excitement, she's embarrassed her colleagues and co-workers at Channel 52 might notice. So, she tries her best to keep from grinning as she makes her way out of her office to the studios.

Ever since she met Oliver Queen in person, she can't shake this feeling that there's something more to the former billionaire-playboy who was marooned on an island in the South China Sea and returned to their city five years after, seemingly a changed man. Susan loves controversies and mysteries, and the air of controversy and mystery surrounding the incumbent mayor for almost a decade draws her to him like the north pole of one magnet to the south pole of another.

At first, she had only been interested in becoming his number one critic, for the simple reason that she did not believe he was the right man for the job. She'd been skeptical of his campaign platform the year before, doubting how a college dropout could unite the people of a city that has experienced three major terrorist attacks and survived by the skin of their teeth. Truth be told, she'd been relieved when Mr. Queen had withdrawn from the mayoral race and given way to Ruvé Adams. (Susan has always been partial towards strong, assertive women like her.) It's too bad she had died during the terrorist attack, paving the way for Mr. Queen to be mayor.

After the nuclear missile attack against Star City, and the street riots that ended in the Green Arrow permanently eliminating the threat of the alleged terrorist named Damian Darkh, Susan had almost changed her mind about Oliver Queen. His impromptu speech on the roof of a cab in downtown Star City had certainly inspired the people to band together and defend their city, but she still wasn't convinced that the City Council had done the right thing appointing Mr. Queen interim mayor just because nobody else, who valued his or her life, wanted the job. The past six months had proven her right.

Mr. Queen was so bad at being mayor that Susan did not even have to lift her pinkie finger to discredit him and influence his approval ratings. Almost every day, she was able to come up with a controversial issue, a hot topic for debate, an exploitable flaw in his administration, an error or gross negligence on his part to critique or bash him with. Her online rants on social media were scarce but powerful. Sure, she had made his job harder and more miserable than it already was. But she was convinced that all the negative publicity she'd managed to come up with is still publicity, which both her network and the Mayor's Office were benefitting from.

But when Susan finally met Oliver Queen in person, her perspective of the man began to change. She began to think that the Mayor wasn't as bad at his job as she had previously thought he was. The man definitely had a lot to learn, and he was surely far from the accomplishments of the previous mayors who had done better at such a short period of time. But even if she hated to admit it, she honestly thought that for all his flaws, Mayor Queen was sincere when it comes to his desire to make Star City a better, safer place to live in. She had seen it in his eyes the night he obliged her invitation for a drink at McGuire's, her favorite bar and billiards place. She's learned to like what she sees, and in her line of work, Susan prides herself in being a pretty good judge of character.

Still, something else has been drawing her towards Oliver Queen, and it has nothing to do with him being the mayor she'd been pressuring and criticizing for the past months. (It's the reason she accepted the councilman's invitation for her to chaperon him for his private meeting with the Mayor.) The man is gorgeous and lovely to look at, especially in person. And Susan does not easily get attracted to men, especially politicians and high-profile citizens who might become subjects of her future investigations. Mayor Queen is the exception.

The first chance she got to be alone with him (at his request, of course), she did not hesitate to drop a hint that she was interested in him. After agreeing to a ceasefire and to not publish or report anything negative against him and his administration for a month, she handed him her number, boldly declaring her intentions.

Susan was a bit disappointed that Mayor Queen did not appear to be interested as much, but she was confident that with just the right amount of charm and wit, he would eventually change his mind about her. Just two weeks ago, he finally swallowed the bait. One drink. She was sure they were moving forward from being mere acquaintances to actually starting a friendship that might, to her delight, lead to something more.

That's too bad. Unfortunately, from the professional aspect of their relationship, Susan still has doubts. Suspicions, actually. If she is to be honest in her appraisal of Oliver Queen, she can't deny that there are some things in the man's past that really don't add up. It's why she has had her informant investigating him while she befriends him and wins his trust.

As expected, with the help of surreptitious (and illegal) connections, the private investigator on her payroll was able to acquire convincing evidence that Mr. Queen has indeed been hiding something from his constituents, whom she thinks deserve to know the truth – truth that _she_ would be the one to reveal in time when her hunches prove to be corroborative facts. Now she has in her possession a photograph showing him in Russia during the time he was supposed to be stranded on an island called Lian Yu.

What else is Mr. Queen covering up? Why has he covered up the truth about his whereabouts during the time he was presumed dead? How would he feel about her investigating him behind his back? Would he see it as a form of betrayal or treachery? Would he believe her if she told him that she's just trying to do her job?

They're just beginning to date and to discover if their relationship could be something more. She'd hate for that to be ruined just because she's good at what she does. Because frankly, she's really learning to like him. The bottom line is – it's a choice between pursuing a promising relationship built on trust, or pursuing a really juicy story that could catapult her to the pinnacle of success career-wise. At this point, Susan didn't know which one to pick, really. She decides she would have plenty of time to think things through later. Whenever later would be.

So, she shoves the ugly, disconcerting thoughts to the back of her mind and focuses on enjoying the rest of the evening with the city's most eligible bachelor as her date to a very public event, which she is really running late for.

She was finishing up on a story that her editor said he needed "yesterday." She was sure Oliver wouldn't mind; rumor has it, the Mayor wasn't too good at coming to appointments and events on time either. It's a good thing she brought her red dress and matching red heels with her to the office this morning. She knew something like this was bound to happen. Fortunately for her, the network's studio stylist was still in. Her favorite miracle worker had her hair and make-up done in under thirty minutes.

She hurries to her car and drives to City Hall where the Annual Christmas Bash is being hosted by Mayor Queen and his chief-of-staff, who is none other than his younger sister Thea Queen.

Speaking of the younger Queen, Susan is of the opinion that Thea Queen is the perfect embodiment of the age-old motto, "small but terrible." The young woman had only a high school diploma and one year of business experience as a night club owner as her qualifications for running City Hall; nevertheless, she is a feisty young woman who'd stop at nothing to protect the interests of her brother. Somehow Susan thinks the petite brunette is really the one who's taking charge of the city in her brother's behalf. Thea Queen is smart and sassy, so much like her, and she doesn't like that one bit.

Their first encounter hadn't helped. Susan had burned Thea with that sneaky press release, and Thea had burned her back. Susan is willing to bet that her altercation with the young Ms. Queen is most probably the reason why she and Mayor Queen did not hit it off immediately, why the dashing debonair Mr. Queen had proceeded with caution when getting to know her.

She's surely going to run into Thea tonight, but she'll be ready for that. She always is.

When Susan arrives late to the Christmas Party and greets Oliver, guess who's standing right there with him? Thea Queen herself.

Susan gloats with pride as Oliver formally introduces her to his sister as his date for the evening and compliments her for the dress she's wearing that, according to him, more than makes up for her tardiness. She would have paid big money just to see the flabbergasted face of Thea Queen, but she didn't have to. Things are going better than she expected. She tried to hide the smirk and hoped that she succeeded for Oliver's sake.

Susan thinks she's really going to have a blast tonight. What she doesn't know, however, is that a few months down the road, Thea Queen would have the last laugh.

* * *

Detective Billy Malone watches Felicity take another champagne flute from the server's tray. He has noticed that she's been uncharacteristically and overly nervous since he picked her up from her place to come to the Mayor's Annual Holiday Bash (as she prefers to call it, because she's Jewish). He asks her how many she's had, and when she tells him that it's her third flute (in under thirty minutes), he calls her out on it. Felicity tells him that she is nervous about finally introducing him to her friends.

" _I just want them to love you as much as I…_ _ **like**_ _you,"_ she says with a slight hesitation on that second to the last word.

The four-letter word isn't what he's been wanting to hear from her for some time now. They've been dating for what, almost five months now, and have been together for close to three (actually, two… if he counted only the time she had agreed to go public about it). He's never failed to tell her how he feels about her – which is, to be clear, more than just _liking_ her. He's quite sure he's fallen for her already. Who could blame him? Felicity Smoak is an amazing, beautiful, intelligent woman who's not so difficult to be attracted to. But after everything he's done to show her that he's serious about their relationship, he still doesn't feel like she reciprocates in the same way.

Billy isn't naïve. He knows it's only been less than a year since Felicity broke off her engagement with Oliver Queen, now the Mayor of the city, the top boss that he directly reports to as a member of the Anti-Crime Unit or ACU. And he understands that it will take some time for her to get over a major heartbreak. He's tried to get her to talk about it and open up to him, because that's what couples do, right? But Felicity doesn't. She claims that she's moved on and prefers not to talk about something that will just suck her back to the past she's trying to leave behind (or escape from).

Billy knows that denial and repressing emotions is not the best way for her to start a healthy relationship with him. But he still took the chance with her, thinking that he could somehow help her find closure and offer comfort and companionship while she does. He would have given her more space if she had told him she needed it, but it was Felicity's idea for them to be together so soon. So, he had jumped right in and let her take the lead. On hindsight, though, maybe he should have waited a little longer for her to sort through her feelings and process her issues.

It pains him every time he has to listen to her manufacture idiotic cover stories uncharacteristic of a genius like her. He has always wondered why she gets calls and texts from yet unidentified clients at odd hours when they're supposed to be enjoying each other's company. Why she suddenly has to leave during a date or a movie night at the Loft or at his place. Why she sometimes doesn't call or text him back for two days, sometimes three. Why she sweet-talks him into doing special favors for her that require the use of SCPD forensics equipment or sometimes even police clearance. Why her start-up company with a friend named Curtis hasn't started up yet after months of planning and preparation. Why she has never introduced a single friend or family member to him, even if he's hinted months ago that he would like to meet any of them at her convenience. Billy could see right through the lies, and his heart ached each time.

The one that hurt most was when he'd told Felicity one afternoon about a month ago that he'd been promoted because he signed up for the Mayor's ACU. He had thought that he'd timed it perfectly, right after they'd been together intimately, hoping that he'd get an honest-to-goodness answer that time around.

" _This isn't going to be weird, right?"_ he had asked her candidly.

" _Hmm?"_

" _Me reporting to your ex-fiancé?"_

" _Yeah, what could possibly be weird about that?"_ When she had answered his question with another question, he had known straightaway that she was going to be evasive again. But he pressed on.

" _Felicity, does Mayor Queen know that we're seeing each other?"_

" _It really doesn't help if you call him Mayor Queen."_

" _Felicity…?"_

" _Definitely,"_ she had replied with a nod, biting her lower lip, an ambiguous expression taking over her face. _"He's definitely… aware of you."_

He had known right then and there that she hadn't been truthful. Mayor Queen hadn't known a thing. Just as he had thought. The bewildered look on the Mayor's face when he had introduced himself that day as the newest member of the ACU, and as Felicity Smoak's boyfriend, had said it all.

Billy knows that trust is the solid foundation on which a mature relationship is built. He and Felicity did not have that, and that's what bothers him most about their relationship. Yes, he had always been honest with her from the very beginning, but honesty and transparency had been a one-way street for them.

Which is why the major breakthrough just a couple of weeks ago had meant so much to him.

It came on a day he least expected. She had come by the precinct and asked to speak with him in private. He had brought her to one of the interrogation rooms in jest, hoping that she'd take the hint. To his relief, Felicity had been there to come clean (almost completely), and he'd very much appreciated the gesture.

When he had asked her what was really going on with her life, and told her that he had a million different scenarios running through his mind, she had confessed that she works for the Green Arrow – which is why she keeps odd hours, why she disappears at random times, why she keeps asking him for favors, and why she stole evidence for the Throwing Star Killer case from his desk.

Finally, she had told him some truth, but it was the kind of truth that he hadn't been prepared to hear. It had totally blown his mind away. At first, he couldn't grasp it. He'd even accused her of being a criminal herself, just like the masked vigilante she's been helping for the last few years. But it hadn't taken him long to process the revelation and its repercussions. Within a few minutes, he'd begun to respond with more admiration for her courage and resolve to help save the city, rationalizing that her choices were for a good cause. In fact, he had become so excited to know more about the Green Arrow – where he lives, if he wears a mask and hood because his face is all scarred, maybe even whether or not he could meet the hero of Star City.

Felicity hadn't divulged the Green Arrow's identity or his hideout, but she certainly had been relieved that Billy had taken things better than she'd expected. She had simply told him to shut up, and then rewarded him with a passionate kiss for understanding her and what she believes in.

Since then, Billy has always felt that their relationship has taken a new, more favorable direction. He's happy, especially now that she's agreed to introduce him to some of her friends. He's proud to be her plus one in tonight's very public event, and to finally be introduced as Felicity Smoak's boyfriend.

Except, just now she has introduced him to Curtis and Paul as, in her own words, _"my Malone boyfriend."_ _"This is Billy Malone, my b-boy-boyfriend,"_ she corrects herself, stammering a bit. She then takes a swig of her champagne as if to swallow a huge lump that's stuck in her throat.

If anything, what has just happened makes three things clear to him. First, his girlfriend is nervous about introducing him to friends. Second, she has confirmed once again that she only _likes_ him and nothing more. And third, she still feels awkward about him being her boyfriend. All boxes for the warning signs of a relationship that's failed before it even started can now be ticked off one by one.

Billy thinks that a serious, heart-to-heart talk with his girlfriend is long overdue. When the server passes their way again, he takes a champagne flute and chugs down the alcohol in one go.

As if that isn't enough, Felicity fumbles again later on.

After Mayor Queen's short, humorous yet eloquent speech, Felicity approaches him and totally forgets all about the boyfriend that she just leaves behind. And Billy notices this.

He also notices that Felicity approaches Mayor Queen at the same time a gorgeous brunette in a body-hugging red dress does. Both ladies compliment the mayor at the same time with the same words, without having realized it. The long-haired brunette, however, moves to stand beside the mayor and slips her arm around his, and then she turns around to face Felicity. Billy takes that as his cue that it's safe to approach and stand beside his partner as well. He doesn't want to be left out of the introductions, even if she introduces him again as her Malone boyfriend.

Felicity breaks the temporary ice by saying something that only her faulty brain-to-mouth filter could come up with. (It really is the alcohol's fault.) _"You must be the super-hot reporter,"_ she says to the brunette, whom Mayor Queen introduces as Channel 52 reporter Susan Williams.

Ah… So, that's why she looks familiar, Billy thinks. He also thinks she's very pretty. Oliver Queen still knows how to pick his dates.

Billy notices how awkward Felicity's inappropriate comment makes Susan feel. Susan simply responds by saying, _"Uh, thank you."_

Felicity tries to redeem herself. _"What I meant to say was, this is… this is my boyfriend Billy."_

Billy takes a step forward and extends his hand towards Mayor Queen. _"Nice to see you again Mayor Queen."_

" _Billy, please call me Oliver."_ Mayor Queen gives him a firm handshake and puts on a smile.

Billy, however, senses how tense things are fast becoming. Felicity feels awkward. Susan looks awkward. And now things are becoming awkward too between him and his current girlfriend's former fiancé. It's awkward as awkward can be.

It's a good thing Curtis and Paul pass by, because it breaks the tension in the air. Felicity's friends thank the mayor for hosting the party and excuse themselves to go home. As Curtis and Paul walk away, Billy notices something strange.

Mayor Queen is actually staring. In the direction of his arm. He follows the line of the Mayor's gaze and notices that his boss's eyes are actually locked on to Felicity's hand. – the one that's presently latched on to his left arm. Felicity suddenly notices this, too, and she lets go of his arm in a flash. As if she has burned her hand on a hot plate or something.

But that's not all. The next thing Billy notices is that Felicity now seems to be shyly playing with her fingers as Mayor Queen and Susan Williams note the embarrassed look on her face with their slightly raised eyebrows. "Why would my girlfriend be embarrassed about holding on to my arm?" Billy wonders.

Upon closer observation, Billy finds that Felicity isn't randomly playing with her fingers in response to an awkward moment. She's actually just playing with one – her ring finger – and he's not sure whether or not she's aware of this. Truth be told, Billy has noticed her doing this several times before. He has always thought that it's just one of her habits or nervous ticks. But now that he thinks about it, Felicity has always rubbed her ring finger whenever she spaces out on him with some kind of nostalgic look on her face, and he'd have to do something to get her attention back.

That's exactly what's happening now, as all four of them stand there speechless. Felicity has this nostalgic look as she fixes her gaze on her former fiancé's handsome face.

Billy is sure his eyes and his brain are not playing tricks on him, because when he looks up towards the mayor and his date, he sees that Susan William notices it, too, what with her narrowed, curious eyes shifting between Felicity's ring finger and her date for the evening.

Billy's gaze shifts to Mayor Queen, and he sees something different. The man isn't curious like the woman beside him. There is that unmistakable look of longing on the mayor's eyes as he stares at Felicity's ring finger being caressed by her other fingers. Mayor Queen gets it; he knows what this is all about. Immediately, Billy realizes that the action must mean something to the ex-fiancé. He also realizes that what appears to be a harmless nervous tick might mean something quite special between Mayor Queen _and_ his ex-fiancée, who happens to be his girlfriend.

What does Billy make of that now? He doesn't want to dwell on it too much, because it already hurts like hell to let the passing thought cross his mind. He is able to dismiss the thought, but not the jealousy that he feels. For that's when he realizes that he's been fighting a losing battle for Felicity Smoak's heart.

Her voice snaps him out of his momentary yet miserable daze. _"So, you guys wanna go out on a double date sometime?"_ she asks Oliver and Susan, once again attempting to dispel the awkwardness in the air. Billy is almost sure that she's trying to use humor as a façade for how awful she feels seeing her former fiancé with another attractive woman as his date.

Also, it's obvious that Susan Williams is way too uncomfortable with the idea Felicity just proposed. The witty reporter immediately marks her territory, and her response is curt and clear: _"No."_ Susan's strategy, as opposed to Felicity's humor, is that of building a wall between them with a huge sign that says, "Oliver Queen is off-limits, sweetheart. You had your chance."

For all her ineptness that manifests itself in stressful or awkward situations, Felicity is surprisingly keen in recognizing the social cue dropped by the "super-hot reporter." Billy is grateful that she is. She backs of and just says, _"No? Cool."_

Billy is relieved that the awkward encounter does not take longer than that. He also thinks that he can't take much more of this. Soon, he's going to break, and he's afraid he'll have to break up with Felicity if things continue as they are between them. He decides that he's going to have to sit her down one quiet evening after Christmas Day, over a romantic dinner, and gently corner her into being honest about her feelings for him… and for her ex-fiancé.

He never gets to do that, though.

Sadly, the next day, he gets into a serious argument with Felicity over his involvement with the Throwing Star Killer case – which she vehemently disapproves of and begs him to drop.

He won't do it, not even for her. He tells her that he's a cop, and that he's not letting the case go. With a heavy heart, he also tells her, _"Felicity, you know how I feel about you, but I have to be true to who I am."_ That's when he decides that it's never going to work out between them. As soon as tension over the serial killer's case dies down, he is going to have to break up with her. Somehow, he thinks that both of them will actually be relieved.

Tragically, Detective Billy Malone's life is cut short. The Throwing Star Killer kidnaps him and stages an impossible situation wherein he dies in the hands of the Green Arrow – who, unbeknownst to him, has always been, and will always be, the true love of Felicity Smoak's life.

* * *

 **A/N: So, what did you think?**

 **Of course, I didn't really like Billy Malone in the show. It wasn't him, though. He was a nice guy, come to think of him. He did care about Felicity and had always tried to be honest with her. Susan's character was who I hated more. To me, she was a conniving woman who loved her career and herself too much that she pursued a relationship with Oliver only to unravel the secrets he kept hidden. She had gone so far as to sleep with him, and used her discovery of his tattoo to investigate his connections with the Bratva. To me, that was just FOUL! (Sorry, I don't curse.) The only thing that made me treat her character in this fic with a little bit of respect, and made me put her on a sort of middle ground, is the fact that she has not outed him (so far) as the Green Arrow even after her kidnapping and her discovery of his identity. It's me giving credit (a little) where it's due. Whether or not you agree with that, it's okay. I still hope you enjoyed this chapter and will read the last one.**

 **Thanks again for reading and following this!**


	6. Thanksgiving (William's POV)

**Chapter 6: THANKSGIVING (William's POV, from 6x07)**

* * *

 **A/N: So, here it is, the final chapter of this 5+1 fic. I'm so sorry for the delay. I know I said this would be up before 6x07 airs, but I decided to wait and see what happens in that scene that's been spoiled by the paps weeks ago. I though it better to be consistent with canon and not stray too far even if I've tweaked it a little bit in each chapter. I wasn't going to divert from that concept in this chapter too. Please note that I am taking off only from the episode's opening scene - up until Oliver comes back with Felicity to give his public speech.**

 **I hope you enjoy this last update, even if it's not as long as the previous ones. There wasn't very much material to work on, considering there are just a few scenes in the show where William and Felicity interact. Thanks again for reading and following! You all are fantastic!**

 **Summary: The one person in Oliver's life at this point whose opinion matters most, notices the thing he does with Felicity's ring finger.**

* * *

William is in the booth in front of Star City Metro Police Department, waiting for his dad to come back. He had told Oliver to go and rescue Felicity from the ambush interview she had just run into with a sneaky reporter at the entrance of the building. His father must have thought it was a good idea, because he immediately excused himself and walked away to go to her.

Other people are at the booth, too, waiting for the Mayor to deliver his public speech to cap the SCPD's Thanksgiving Day Food Drive that was for the benefit of more than one thousand indigent residents in the city. The press and media people are already there with their cameras, microphones, and recording devices ready. Unlike them, who have to be there either because they're curious or because they have to do their jobs as reporters, William is happy to be there because he really wanted to support his father. He is also very excited, as it is the first time he has appeared with his father, the Mayor, in a public event that is covered by the media.

Oliver had spoken with him a few days ago and invited him to come to the Thanksgiving Day Food Drive. At first, he was a bit hesitant even if he liked the idea of going out with his dad and doing something fun together for the needy people of the city. He didn't like the attention it will draw, considering he'd already been teased quite a few times at school because of who his father is, and bullied that one time when his dad was rumored to be the masked vigilante known to the people of Star City as the Green Arrow (which he knew to be true). He didn't want to go to school and have to deal with another incident wherein he'd have to take his dad's radical advice and punch someone's nose. However, when Oliver mentioned that Felicity would be there with them, William didn't have to think twice. He was going.

William thinks that Felicity's cool. Considering she's more than a decade older than him, he finds it cool that she can still speak his language and understands how a kid thinks. She knows about what's in and what's out in popular culture. Like him, she's a fan of superheroes, the Star Wars series, and the like. He finds her geekiness and her babbling adorable (something he might have inherited from his dad). She's terrific with technology and enjoys playing video games with him even if she ends up losing and has to ask for a rematch over and over again.

Unlike his dad and Raisa, Felicity isn't so strict when it comes to what he's allowed to eat. Last week when his dad had to be out-of-town to help a friend with a domestic situation, he and Felicity had rocky road ice cream for dinner. That was fun! William remembered thinking that if his mom were alive, she would never agree to that. "Not in a million years," she'd say. He had almost sulked in sadness and misery when the thought of his mother Samantha crossed his mind, but when he'd seen Felicity picking her ice cream and removing all the nuts she could find while babbling about her allergy and how it had gotten her in trouble so many times, he couldn't help but smile.

"That's all right," William had told her, feeling sorry that she had to remove the good stuff from her ice cream. "Tell you what, I'll take those, and you can have all the marshmallows from mine." He'd begun to scoop out all the nuts that Felicity had put into an empty cup and had dumped them on top of his ice cream, when she had replied, "Why, thank you! You really are your father's son. Just as thoughtful and handsome." He had blushed and grinned sheepishly at the compliment from his favorite blonde.

William hadn't known Felicity long, but she had won his heart. No sweat. He had met her just weeks ago, close a month to date. But he's already decided that after everything he's been through, his life has definitely become so much better with her in it. He thinks that the same is true for his dad. There's just really something about Felicity that makes everyone around her happy and at ease. Her smile and her laughter are infectious, viral even. She's like a ray of sunshine on an otherwise dreary, cloudy day.

William remembers the first time he'd met her. He had had a really important math test coming up, but he was so behind in the lessons for his grade level due to all the moving that he and his mother had done in the past year, that he was so anxious about the upcoming test. What had been worse was that his father – a fact that he's also just learned about five months ago – had only been vaguely familiar (okay, hadn't been familiar at all) with what quadratic equations are, much less be in a position to help him. A few days before the test, Oliver had told him that a really good friend was willing to tutor him in math. Said tutor was, as his dad's own words, "Nevada's three-time state Mathletics champion." William had been impressed with her credentials, and the way his father had beamed while talking about this Felicity had told him that she was perhaps more than just a regular friend.

After just an hour of algebra review with Felicity, he'd been more than impressed. He had let her into his life.

When William had gotten frustrated about binomials at one point during that first study session, he had exclaimed, "I'm gonna bomb this!" But instead of scolding or judging him, Felicity had simply pointed out that the mere fact he was frustrated meant that he saw how mathematics can be useful. She had even complimented him that he's really good at math.

When William had gotten his math test sheet back with a huge "A" written at the top of the front page, he had told his dad that it was Felicity's encouragement that had kept him going, and that she really deserved most of the credit. Oliver had remarked that Felicity really does have a way with words, a fact that he had agreed with, so he had suggested that his dad should get her something as a thank-you gift from both of them.

William remembers telling Felicity that night, "Oliver says that school doesn't matter in the real world."

Felicity had quickly responded, "Well, Oliver didn't grow up in the real world. School changed my life."

"I used to love school."

"Yeah, you will again. Promise."

Oliver, whom William had seen had been standing at the doorway and seemingly listening to his conversation with Felicity, had come in and asked them how things are going. William had said that things are good, and Felicity had said that they had been making progress. And they had been. In fact, they had been progressing so well that he had wanted her to keep on tutoring him in math, maybe even in other subjects that he had been having difficulty coping with.

"Could you tutor me some more before the test?" asked William.

"Yeah! I mean, if it's cool with your dad, it's cool with me," Felicity answered cheerfully and enthusiastically, looking Oliver's way.

"If it's cool with you, it's totally cool with me," his dad replied with a definitive sparkle in his blue eyes and a winsome smile that was meant only for the blonde beauty that was his personal tutor.

William had felt like his hunch had been confirmed. Felicity was clearly more than just a friend to his dad. Her fangirling over Oliver's Monte Cristo waffles like she's enjoyed his specialty nighttime snack a hundred times before – and the way Oliver glowed when he remarked "She's pretty cool," and Oliver had answered, "Yeah, she is" – had been more than enough evidence of the fact.

After that night, he had once asked Raisa to confirm it, and Raisa had, discreetly and very briefly explaining that Oliver and Felicity had been engaged to be married more than a year ago but had broken up over a "serious disagreement" that Oliver hadn't elaborated on. William had thought that it was too bad. He wouldn't have minded having her as a stepmother by now.

For William, Felicity is remarkable, and William has become fond of her. He had been glad that she had agreed to become part of his life and his dad's life again. He knows she's not his mother, and she will never be able to take his mother's place in his life. But he sure didn't mind that she is becoming more than just a special friend of their very small family.

Truth be told, he is excited for her relationship with his dad to progress faster than his relationship with her as his tutor – so excited that he had dared to ask him dad if he could accompany them on their first dinner date in a long time. Oliver had declined nicely, telling him that, as much as he loved his son's company, Raisa would have to be his son's date that night. His dad had been so nice about letting him down, suggesting that William be the one to pick out the tie he was going to wear. William, in turn, told his dad that if Felicity asked, his dad was supposed to tell her that he'd been the one who picked it out.

Just last week, when his dad came home from the out-of-town trip with the friend who needed his help, William had been happy to share the good news that he had gotten an "A" on his science project, which was a bottle rocket that reached up to 300 feet, the farthest in his whole school. Sure, William had been more than happy to go get the rocket and show his dad how it worked, just like his dad had asked. He also knew that his dad had really been proud of his accomplishment. But he had also been willing to bet that Oliver also wanted to have a few minutes of alone time with his girlfriend, maybe steal a hug and a kiss or two without him looking.

And he'd been right. He had given them a couple of minutes, stalling for another minute or two, before coming out of his room and saying out loud, "If we can go up to the roof, I can show you how it works." He had caught Felicity and his dad in an embrace and ready to kiss. In a rare moment of mischief, he had felt amused at having broken up their intimate moment. Anyway, he was sure they'll have plenty of other times to enjoy each other when he's not around to notice.

William looks up and watches his dad and Felicity interact with the lady reporter. Felicity smiles and leans into Oliver, wrapping her arm around his waist. As if instinctively reciprocating her gesture, Oliver lifts his arm and drapes it across her back. His dad speaks to the reporter, then the reporter nods her head and walks away. William thinks that whatever it is that his father told the woman is enough for her to leave him and his girlfriend alone.

William notices something when his dad and Felicity turn around and start to walk away from the building entrance. He sees Oliver reach for her hand. He doesn't intertwine their fingers, though, like most couples that have the habit of holding hands while walking. He gets hold of her ring finger and rubs it with his fingers in gentle, caressing strokes. William smiles, because he finds that simple show of endearment very cute. "Nice one, Dad," William whispers.

Felicity's ring finger. William wonders when it would actually be wearing a diamond-studded engagement ring. He hopes it doesn't take that long. His dad better not mess things up with her again, because he is sure that Felicity Smoak is the just the right person for Oliver Queen, _his Dad_. As soon as an opportunity presents itself, William will make sure his father listens to what he has to say. There had better be a ring on her finger before Thanksgiving next year.

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 **A/N: Last chance to leave a comment or review! I hope to hear from you. Thank you for reading!**


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